Department for Communities and Local Government

Floods

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 3 November (HL2670), what arrangements are in place to monitor how the 90 per cent funding for flood relief allocated to local authorities is being spent; and what proportions have been allocated to businesses and individuals.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Local authorities report their spend on flood recovery every fortnight. At the end of October, 40 per cent of grants available under the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme had been allocated to households and communities, and 60 per cent to businesses. This excludes grants of up to £5,000 being made available to both commercial and residential properties under the Property Level Resilience Scheme.

Social Services: Finance

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Local Government Association’s State of the Nation 2016 Report on Adult Social Care Funding.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The government values the contribution the recent Local Government Association's report on adult social care adds to this active debate. In relation to the desire for greater guidance and clarity on integration, we have been developing our approach to supporting local systems to meet this ambition, in consultation with partners in the NHS and local government and the new Integration and Better Care Fund policy framework will be published shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Storms

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are planning to publicise and explain the new arrangement for naming storms over the UK and Ireland.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Details on the naming of storms over the UK and Ireland, together with all the latest information about storms in the UK, are available on the Met Office website at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/barometer/uk-storm-centre.



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Research: Finance

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 November (HL Deb, col 1727), whether the funding to support research and development will be delivered through the research councils.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In the Autumn Statement, we announced an investment of an extra £2 billion a year in R&D by the end of this Parliament. We will set out the breakdown of the funding in due course. The delivery mechanisms for this investment are currently being worked through.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: West Bank

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 15 November (HL2872), and in view of the continued house demolitions in the West Bank, especially Area C and East Jerusalem, what further action they plan to take to raise the issue with the government of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to raise our concerns about demolitions with the government of Israel and in international forums. On 15 October, Matthew Rycroft, the UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, called on the Israeli Government to stop the demolitions and provide a transparent, effective and legal route to construction in Area C and East Jerusalem.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they remain committed to continuing British aid for the welfare of the families of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, as stated by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development in March 2014.

Lord Bates: No UK aid has been or will be used for payments to Palestinian prisoners or their families. UK assistance to the Palestinian Authority was used to pay the salaries of public sector workers only. The Secretary of State is currently conducting a full examination of UK aid to the OPTs and will ensure financial assistance to the PA gets the best value for money to the UK taxpayer.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority is given within the Department for International Development (DfID) to issues related to religious liberty; how many staff, and what percentage of DfID's budget, are allocated to faith-related issues; who is the designated lead official on faith-related issues; and whether there are any plans to increase the staff resources allocated by DfID to deal with faith and faith communities.

Lord Bates: The United Kingdom is committed to enabling all people to enjoy to the rights and freedoms defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and core treaties of international human rights law. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office leads Government policy on issues related to religious freedom and promoting and protecting religious freedom is important to UK foreign policy.DFID collates expenditure data in accordance with the statistical reporting requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. These do not separately identify spending on religious liberty. DFID has a dedicated focal point on faith-based organisations in its Inclusive Societies Department, and provides central funding to over 30 UK faith groups. DFID’s cadres of governance and social development advisers have specialist expertise on human rights and discrimination. Staff resourcing for this is constantly kept under review alongside other priorities.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to introduce protection and support for minorities suffering persecution on grounds of freedom of religion or belief into every level of planning within the Department for International Development; whether they intend to make this a priority; and what measures they intend to introduce to track the impact of programmes aimed at reducing levels of religious persecution, hatred, and intolerance.

Lord Bates: DFID’s programme development procedures require consideration of the impact on different social and economic groups, including discrimination due to religion. In addition, partner governments’ commitment to respecting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, is one of the four partnership principles that DFID also considers when providing direct financial support to governments. All DFID programme are rigorously monitored and reviewed to ensure they are delivering the intended outcomes.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of research demonstrating the links between the promotion of freedom of religion and belief and those societies which are the most prosperous and stable; and whether such research informs the priorities and policies of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Lord Bates: DFID and Foreign and Commonwealth Office teams continually analyse the factors affecting prosperity and stability, including those relating to religion and belief. DFID has undertaken studies on factors affecting prosperity and stability, including a 2015 review of the role of religion in conflict and peacebuilding. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office follows the research of organisations such as the Berkley Center at Georgetown University and the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation. The Berkley Center’s research contributed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s October 2016 conference, which considered how freedom of religion or belief can promote resilience against violent extremism.

Iraq: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in relation to humanitarian assistance provided to Iraq, a record is kept to track what support is given to religious minorities; what priority is being given to such groups in the plans for the reconstruction of the country; and what consideration is taken of the needs of such groups in military planning in theatres of war such as Mosul.

Lord Bates: All UK-funded humanitarian aid is distributed on the basis of need irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. The organisations through which we channel this in Iraq do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. In our dialogue with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the United Nations, UK Ministers and officials frequently raise the importance of ensuring that minorities are protected from harm, and that their needs are taken into account when planning for stabilisation and reconstruction, including in Mosul.

India: Slavery

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that India has, according to the Global Slavery Index published in 2016, up to five times more people in modern slavery than any other country, why the UK Aid Match fund as updated on 21 November does not include work in India.

Lord Bates: Although projects implemented in India are not eligible for Aid Match funding, DFID is committed to working with the Government of India to tackle trafficking and exploitation of workers. For example, DFID is supporting the regional “Work in Freedom” programme led by the International Labour Organisation which supports safe migration and government capacity building at national and state level, including implementing legislation and standards in key sectors such as domestic work and textiles. To date over 90,000 women have benefited from training to help them make informed migration decisions, reducing their risk of being trafficked from India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Burma: Rohingya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to reports that hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are crossing from Burma into Bangladesh, in order to seek safety and shelter from the violence they are experiencing in Burma.

Lord Bates: The Government remains deeply concerned by the current situation in Rakhine and the persecution of the Muslim minority Rohingya community. The UK Government has repeatedly engaged the Government of Burma to urge a restrained security response, an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses, and for the immediate resumption of access for humanitarian aid. The Minister of State Rory Stewart raised the issue personally with Burmese ministers in recent meetings in Burma and the UK.The Government of Burma has now committed to restoring humanitarian access and investigating allegations of human rights abuses. We will continue to monitor and support the delivery of these commitments. The UK Government has also called on the Government of Bangladesh not to return the people seeking refuge back into danger and we continue to offer support through our work with IOM and the World Food Programme. The UK is the largest provider of food aid to the 34,000 Rohingya refugees already living in official camps in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh we are also increasing access to nutrition, health and education services for refugees living in makeshift settlements and the host communities that support them.

Burma: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to (1) warnings from UNICEF that thousands of malnourished children in Burma are in urgent need of food, clean water, healthcare and other medical care services; and (2) reports that the Burmese army and security forces are enforcing restrictions on humanitarian aid in Rakhine State in Burma.

Lord Bates: The UK Government is deeply concerned by the situation in Rakhine and by the restrictions on access for humanitarian aid. Our partners report that they have been unable to treat some 6,400 malnourished children and pregnant women who were suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition in Maungdaw district prior to the attacks on 9 October. The majority of the Rohingya population have not had access to healthcare for seven weeks. The UK Government has repeatedly urged the Government of Burma to allow immediate resumption of humanitarian access. The Government of Burma has now committed to restoring humanitarian access and we will continue to monitor and support the delivery of this commitment. The UK has long been one of the biggest bilateral humanitarian donors to Burma and to Rakhine, including for treatment of child malnutrition in Maungdaw district. Since 2012, we have committed over £23 million in humanitarian assistance, including water, sanitation and nutrition for over 126,000 people. We continue to fund humanitarian assistance to Rohingya people in camps elsewhere in Rakhine State. Some partners funded by the UK Government have been able to provide nutrition assistance to very small numbers in areas affected by the current crisis. We stand ready to provide further assistance as soon as access restrictions are removed.

Developing Countries: Hepatitis

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have committed to the World Health Organisation's goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.

Lord Bates: The UK supports the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis through multiple channels. Provision of clean water, sanitation and hygiene promotion reduces the risk of transmission of Hepatitis A and E. DFID supports the immunisation of over 300 million children against Hepatitis B through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Support to UNITAID helps to improve access to better diagnostics for Hepatitis C and DFID’s contribution to the Global Fund supports programmes that reduce transmission of both HIV and Hepatitis C.

Department for Education

Higher Education

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the circumstances under which an institution may either lose degree-awarding powers, or lose the right to a university title.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Under current guidance[1], some types of degree-awarding powers (i.e. for institutions in the further education sector and institutions that are not funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England) are made on a six-yearly renewable basis. Therefore, these powers are not automatically renewed.As set out in published guidance[2], in circumstances such as a change of ownership or control, an assessment is made of any provider with university title or degree-awarding powers to determine whether the change would affect the continuing eligibility of that provider to hold university title or degree-awarding powers. [1] ‘Guidance for higher education providers: criteria and process for applying for taught degree awarding powers and research degree awarding powers’[2] ‘Guidance for higher education providers: criteria and process for applying for taught degree awarding powers and research degree awarding powers’ and ‘Guidance for higher education providers for applying for university title and university college title’



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Higher Education

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any English institutions have had their degree-awarding powers or university title removed, other than indirectly via merger with other institutions, between 1990 and 2015.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: No English institutions have had their degree-awarding powers or university title removed during this period, other than indirectly via merger with other institutions or through similar structural changes.

Universities

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an institution in England which does not have formal degree-awarding powers and which does not receive public funds can call itself a university; and if not, under which legislation this is prevented.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The criteria for obtaining University Title in England are not legislative, but are set out in departmental guidance (‘Guidance for higher education providers for applying for university title and university college title’ is available at www.gov.uk, by searching for its title). These are the same regardless of whether a provider is publicly funded or not. One of the criteria is having taught degree-awarding powers. It is therefore not possible to obtain University Title without having degree-awarding powers.If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the criteria have been met and that a provider’s preferred name is not likely to be confusing, the next steps will vary depending on the constitution of the organisation and/or its funding status. In general:- Publicly funded higher education providers can obtain University Title from the Privy Council under either Section 77 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, or Section 39 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998. This usually takes the form of amendments to the provider’s governing documents to reflect the new name.- Alternative Providers cannot obtain University Title via the Privy Council, but can instead do so under the Companies Act. The criteria as set out in the guidance still apply. “University” is a sensitive word under company law[1], which means permission from the Secretary of State under the Companies Act 2006, following a non-objection letter from the Department for Education, is required before it can be used in a business or company name.There are limited circumstances where a business may be permitted to use the word “university” in their company or business name, without obtaining University Title. For example, a student union may be given such permission. However, the use of a name in this way does not convey the status of a university. [1] Company, Limited Liability Partnerships and Business Names (Sensitive Words and Expressions) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/3140)

Universities

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how a university is defined in current English legislation.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The term “university” is not defined in legislation. The criteria and processes for obtaining University Title are set out in published guidance, ‘Guidance for higher education providers for applying for university title and university college title’, which the department maintains and updates as necessary.There are some references in legislation. Section 77(4) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 provides that any educational institution that includes the word “university” in its name and is permitted to do so in accordance with section 77(1) is to be treated as a university for all purposes, unless in that name ”university” is immediately followed by the word “college” or “collegiate”. Section 39 of the Education Reform Act 1988 prohibits an institution from unauthorised use of the word “university” in its name in relation to any educational services it offers.There is also a partial definition of “university” in Section 90(3) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 and in Section 235 of the Education Reform Act 1988.

Secondary Education: Counselling

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of secondary schools in England have an in-house counsellor; and what was the corresponding figure in 2010.

Lord Nash: Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is a priority for this Government. Schools are able to decide on the most appropriate support to provide for their pupils, including school-based counselling, based on their individual circumstances. To inform their decisions the Government has published advice, drawn up with experts, on how to provide effective access to counselling support. We do not require schools and colleges to report centrally on the support they provide so do not hold the information requested. However, to inform further policy development, we are currently conducting a nationally representative survey of schools and colleges about what they offer to support the mental health of their pupils and students. The results should be available next spring and will provide national estimates of the proportion of schools and colleges which make different types of provision, including school-based counselling.

Sikhs: Discrimination

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent discrimination against the UK's Sikh community, in the light of the UK Sikh Survey 2016 which revealed that almost one fifth of Sikhs encountered discrimination in a public place in the last year.

Lord Nash: Discrimination against someone because of their race or religion is abhorrent and has no place in modern society.We are rightly proud that British anti-discrimination law is among the strongest in the world. The Equality Act 2010 provides legal protection against both direct and indirect discrimination because of a range of protected characteristics, including a person’s race and their religious beliefs. Domestic case-law has determined that Sikhs are protected as both a racial and a religious group.Anyone who feels that they have been unlawfully discriminated against should contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service. That is a free, Government-sponsored helpline that advises and assists individuals on issues relating to equality and human rights, across England, Scotland and Wales.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average number of prison officers on detached duty in each month in 2015 and 2016 to date.

Lord Keen of Elie: Safety is our number one priority – The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. In November the Secretary of State announced an extra 2500 additional prison officers to tackle safety in the estate. The table below sets out the average number of prison officers on detached duty by month in 2015 and 2016:2015Jan254Feb254Mar217Apr194May268Jun269Jul250Aug201Sep195Oct191Nov179Dec1922016Jan178Feb188Mar168Apr170May175June164Jul188Aug201Sep199

Prisons

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect their planned provision of up to 10,000 new prison places to increase the prison population; and if so, to what extent.

Lord Henley: The provision of 10,000 new prison places is planned on a ‘new for old’ basis, whereby places in a poor condition are closed against new places opened. As such, it is not expected that this programme will have an impact on the prison population.

Ministry of Defence

RFA Argus

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when it is planned that RFA Argus will be paid off; and whether they intend to build a replacement.

Earl Howe: According to current plans, the out of service date for RFA ARGUS is 2024. The consideration of options to deliver the capability provided by ARGUS remains on-going.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when a new solid support ship will be ordered; and whether the ships will be built in the UK from steel manufactured in the UK.

Earl Howe: On current plans it is anticipated that the Fleet Solid Support ships will be procured through an international competition and that the Ministry of Defence will be in a position to award a contract by 2020. UK companies will have the opportunity to compete for the contract.Sensitive elements of the ships are expected to be procured through separate competitions that will be limited to UK only suppliers. It is too early to say from where the steel to be used in the construction of these ships will be sourced.

Poland: Armed Forces

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the 150 British troops to be deployed to Poland in spring 2017 will be doing to deter Russian aggression; and how long their deployment is intended to last.

Earl Howe: NATO agreed at the Warsaw Summit in July 2016 to the persistent presence of Allied forces in Poland and the Baltic States. We will deploy a UK light cavalry squadron to Poland as part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group led by the US. The UK personnel will work alongside US and Polish forces to reassure Allies of NATO's commitment to the region, defend Polish and Baltic States' territory, and deter Russian belligerence.

Diego Garcia

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK military personnel are currently deployed on the island of Diego Garcia.

Earl Howe: As of November 2016 there are 41 UK military personnel deployed to Diego Garcia.

Diego Garcia

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current annual costs, including salaries and all other incidental costs, which fall to the defence budget for maintaining the presence of UK military personnel on the island of Diego Garcia.

Earl Howe: The defence budget for Diego Garcia in Financial Year 2016-17 is £3.085 million.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Poverty

Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Early Intervention Foundation's Report The Cost of Late Intervention: EIF analysis 2016; and what plans they have to prioritise preventative interventions in seeking to dismantle the root causes of poverty.

Lord Freud: This Government is committed to action that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage, not just the symptoms. As part of our approach, we fully recognise that the right intervention, at the right time, can make a real difference to the lives of children and their families. This is why, for example, we are developing a new approach to relationship support. This is based on the latest evidence from the Early Intervention Foundation that children exposed to frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict between their parents are at risk of poorer long term outcomes. Our approach targets couples and parents during key life transitions; and by doubling the available funding since April 2016 for the remainder of this Parliament we can ensure that more families benefit from this new approach.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent judgment ClientEarth (No 2) vs SSEFRA ordering the Government to draw up an improved air quality plan, whether they will include in the new plan all 37 zones within the UK that have illegal levels of air pollution, instead of the eight that were previously earmarked.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Improving air quality is a priority for this Government and we are determined to cut harmful emissions. The Government is considering next steps in light of both the High Court judgment and recent updates in data on emissions from diesel vehicles and we will set out further measures next year. Our plans, which include national and local measures for all 38 zones and Clean Air Zones in the areas of greatest challenge, have always followed the best available evidence and we have always been clear that we are ready to update them if necessary. We can now confirm a timetable for updating our plans next year and further improving the nation’s air quality. We will consult on a revised air quality plan by 24 April 2017 and publish a final plan by 31 July 2017.

Air Pollution: Playgrounds and Schools

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent judgment ClientEarth (No 2) vs SSEFRA ordering the Government to draw up an improved air quality plan, whether they will consider making it compulsory for local authorities to implement air quality monitors outside all schools and children’s playgrounds.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Improving air quality is a priority for this Government and we are determined to cut harmful emissions. The Government is considering next steps in light of both the High Court judgment and recent updates in data on emissions from diesel vehicles and we will set out further measures next year. Our plans have always followed the best available evidence and we have always been clear that we are ready to update them if necessary. We can now confirm a timetable for updating our plans next year and further improving the nation’s air quality. We will consult on a revised air quality plan by 24 April 2017 and publish a final plan by 31 July 2017. Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing local air quality, including decisions on local air quality monitoring. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they know the issues on the ground in detail and the solutions that are best suited to local circumstances. Defra provides guidance, including helpdesk advice, to local authorities on the appropriate type of monitoring to install. Where local authorities conduct air quality monitoring, they are expected to site monitors in accordance with local and national priorities, which may include schools and other locations where there is high risk of exposure.

Home Office

Police: Road Traffic Control

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police officers in England and Wales are employed full-time on road traffic or road safety duties.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as part of the police workforce statistics. These data include all officers whose primary function is “Road Policing”, whether they spend all of their time in this area or not. Officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function. The data do not allow officers who spend all of their time in this area to be separately identified. The number of full time equivalent police officers employed in road policing roles as at 31 March 2016 was 4,934.These data can also be found in the supplementary tables of the July 2016 police workforce statistics publication. Some forces are unable to make a clear distinction between certain functions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. In particular, some forces have employees who work within units whose function is to provide both roads policing and armed policing.Reclassification of roles within a force can lead to fluctuations in the number of officers in a particular role between years. Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to answer Lord Kennedy of Southwark's written question HL2744 tabled on 26 October.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I apologise to the noble Lord for the delay in answering his question. A response has since been issued, on 24 November 2016.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to answer Lord Kennedy of Southwark's written question HL2745 tabled on 26 October.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I apologise to the noble Lord for the delay in answering his question. A response has since been issued, on 24 November 2016.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to answer Lord Kennedy of Southwark's written question HL2746 tabled on 26 October.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I apologise to the noble Lord for the delay in answering his question. A response has since been issued, on 24 November 2016.

Migrant Workers: Agriculture

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 November (HL3019), whether they will consider implementing a new Seasonal Agricultural Permit Scheme that allows non-EU workers to work in the UK for a set period of less than 12 months to fill temporary jobs in commercial fruit and vegetable production.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: While the UK remains a member of the EU, EU nationals continue to enjoy rights of free movement in accordance with the UK’s Treaty obligations, and employers in the horticultural sector can continue to recruit EU workers to meet seasonal labour needs.

Refugees: Children

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they have applied to the assessment of unaccompanied refugee children from the Calais camp.

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children have been admitted to the UK under the Dublin III Regulation; and how many applications remain outstanding.

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children have been admitted to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016; and how many applications are still outstanding.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Immigration Act states that we will transfer unaccompanied refugee children. Our criteria under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 are intended to ensure that we are focusing on the most vulnerable children. In France, we will be considering those aged 12 and under of any nationality, children referred to us by the French authorities as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation of any nationality, and those nationalities most likely to qualify for refugee status in the UK, aged 15 and below.All unaccompanied asylum seeking children with close family in the UK will continue to be considered for transfer under the criteria set out in the Dublin Regulation, regardless of age or nationality. Between 1 January and 1 October 2016, over 140 unaccompanied asylum seeking children were accepted for transfer under the Dublin Regulation, compared to around 20 children in the whole of 2015. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, regularly publishes Member State figures for Dublin transfers.Furthermore, since 10 October, we have transferred over 300 unaccompanied minors to the UK from France. This includes over 80 girls, many of whom were identified as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation; and more than 200 unaccompanied asylum seeking children with close family links to the UK under the Dublin Regulation. The Home Secretary told Parliament on 24 October that several hundred more children and young people will be brought to the UK in the coming days and weeks.

Visas: Syria

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what grounds visas were denied to Syrian Orthodox bishops, Bishop Nicodemus Dawad, bishop of Mosul, and Bishop Timotheus Moussa, bishop of the Monastery of St Matthew, who were invited to the consecration of the new UK Syrian Orthodox cathedral in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recommendations of the 8th Annual Report of the National DNA Database Ethics Group, what plans they have to inform the public of both the implicit and explicit possibilities for the use of custody images prior to seeking feedback from the public on the storage by police of facial images.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Review of the Use and Retention of Custody Images will set out how such images are used. We plan to publish the review shortly.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the 2015 Home Office review of custody images.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Review of the Use and Retention of Custody Images will be published shortly.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will issue guidance on the use and storage of custody images in the light of the findings by the 8th Annual Report of the National DNA Database Ethics Group that some police "retain custody images indefinitely or until the subject requests for them to be deleted".

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Review of the Use and Retention of Custody Images will make recommendations in relation to the use and retention of custody images to policing.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the 8th Report of the National DNA Ethics Group that the storing and searching of facial images by police forces are likely to raise significant concerns with regard to privacy.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We acknowledge these privacy concerns, and will address them in the Review of the Use and Retention of Custody Images.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in response to the view expressed in the 8th Report of the National DNA Ethics Group that a clear distinction needs to be made between the taking of custody images for a specified purpose, and the retention and use of that image for other purposes than originally intended and for which consent has not been given.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: With respect to the views expressed in the report, the justification is that a custody image taken on arrest can be retained for legitimate policing purposes under Paragraph 5 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to stop the use and retention of facial images by police forces in the light of the findings in the 8th Report of the National DNA Ethics Group of the propensity for errors in the use of digital searches of custody images, and the potential for these searches to result in mistaken identity and the wrongful inclusion of an individual in the early stages of a police investigation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: With respect to the findings in the report, we do not plan to stop the retention and use of custody images. These images are used by the police to obtain leads during investigations, but would only be one factor in these investigations.

Sexual Offences: Northern Ireland

Lord Morrow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the actions taken by police after the victim of Keith and Caroline Baker was reported missing from her home in England in 2004, given that she was only found in 2012 in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Department does not hold any information on this case.

Corruption: Kyrgyzstan

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to investigate whether any Kyrgyz assets connected with the Bakiyev family have been invested in the UK; and if not, why not.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Money laundering investigations are conducted by law enforcement agencies with access to the powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act, such as the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office, and the police. All of these law enforcement agencies are operationally independent of the Government.

Cabinet Office

Poverty

Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Social Reform Cabinet Committee is planning to identify and tackle the root causes of poverty; and if not, whether any cross-departmental poverty strategy will be forthcoming.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The Social Reform Cabinet Committee has been established by the Prime Minister to consider issues relating to social reform and lead the government’s work to make Britain a country that works for everyone. This will include taking action to help the most disadvantaged with the focus on tackling the root causes – not the symptoms – of poverty.

Proof of Identity

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate (1) of the proportion of persons living in the United Kingdom who do not possess a photo identity document of any kind, or evidence of their address such as a utility bill; and (2) of the number of people who are in consequence unable to open an ordinary bank account.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The Government does not hold this information.

Demonstrations: Hounslow

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute in relation to a demonstration outside the home of the Leader of the London Borough of Hounslow does not adversely impact on the willingness of members of the public to stand for elected office, both locally and nationally.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: No elected representative should have their security threatened. Councillors are volunteers and community champions. It is for political parties to encourage individuals to stand as their candidates for elected office, both locally and nationally.

Legislation

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the extent and number of legislative provisions that have never been commenced and the implications of leaving such provisions on the statute book.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The Government monitors implementation of its policy commitments rather than individual legislative measures. This Government has inherited responsibility for an extensive statute book which dates back to the 13th Century. It is Government policy only to legislate where legislation is required to deliver a policy. Where possible the Government will seek to repeal redundant laws and support the work of the law commissions.

Civil Servants

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what checks have taken place to ensure that government departments are compliant with section 3(6) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which states that civil servants who advise Ministers should be aware of the constitutional significance of Parliament and of the conventions governing the relationship between Parliament and Her Majesty's Government.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: I refer the noble Lord to the Government’s previous answer of 15 June 2016 [HL465]: the requirement of section 3(6) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act is set out in the Civil Service Code, which forms part of the contract of employment for all civil servants.

Hate Crime

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent increased incidence of hate crime, what assessment they have made of the letter to political parties from the Chair and Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission calling for policy debate to be conducted in a way which brings the country together and stating that elected representatives should engage people on contentious issues in a responsible and considered way.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: I am aware of the letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which addresses important issues. As the Prime Minister has made clear, hate crime of any kind, directed against any community, race or religion has absolutely no place in British society.As the Equality and Human Rights Commission recognises, it is for political parties to monitor the content of their campaigns and challenge that of others, as part of free political debate.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Telecommunications: Planning Permission

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 29 November (HL3375), what action they propose to take against infrastructure providers who do not comply with the code of practice.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: Communications infrastructure providers are obliged under the Cabinet and Pole Siting Code of Practice to have procedures in place to manage compliance complaints. Complaints should be escalated to a higher level in the provider’s organisation, and a full written response to the complainant provided in a timely manner, giving the reasons for accepting or rejecting the complaint. Providers are also required to keep records of the number of complaints received and the outcome taken to remedy any breaches. Information about non-compliance or complaints more generally are fed into the regular reviews of the Code of Practice’s performance by the independent group representing communications and planning interests. They check that any breaches to the Code of Practice have been addressed appropriately and are able to make changes to strengthen the Code to improve compliance. Under the terms of the Code, regular reviews will be undertaken every 18 months, to ensure that the current high level of compliance is maintained.

Department of Health

In Vitro Fertilisation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 November (HL3075), how many live births were recorded as a result of those transfers to uteri in the latest year for which records are available, and since August 1991.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is shown in the following tables. Table 1 provides the figures for the year 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015. Table 2 provides the cumulative figures from 1 August 1991, after such procedures were brought within a specialist regulatory framework of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, to 30 June 2015.Table 1Live Birth Events16886Table 2Live Birth Events220462Source: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it does not normally publish recent live birth data so that the figures reported to it may be verified. The information requested, after 30 June 2014, falls into this category and should therefore be treated with caution.

Nurses: Training

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 November (HL Deb, cols 1831–2), how many of the additional 40,000 nurses will be employed by agencies.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As set out by Health Education England in its Workforce Plan for England: Proposed Education and Training Commissions for 2016/2017, an increase in available supply of between 3,000 and 40,000 nurses (adult, children’s, mental health and learning disability nurses) is forecast by 2020 compared with 2015. A copy of the Plan is attached. No estimate has been made of how many of these nurses will choose to be employed by agencies. However the Government’s agency controls are already moving staff back to substantive and bank roles.



HEE Workforce Plan For England
(PDF Document, 1.53 MB)

Nurses: Training

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress Health Education England made in reducing the levels of attrition for students studying for a nursing degree both full and part-time in the years 2013–14 to 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Health Education England (HEE) has established a project: Reducing Pre-registration Attrition and Improving Retention (RePAIR) to identify areas of best practice in reducing avoidable attrition. The project, which focuses on the four fields of nursing (adult, children, learning disabilities and mental Health), midwifery and therapeutic radiography, has established a new definition of ‘pure attrition’ agreed by the RePAIR Steering Group on 30 November 2015 to set a national baseline:‘Percentage of students who did not complete within the standard pathway for that programme’.This is a high level standard metric to measure improvement and was required to overcome inconsistencies with other attrition definitions. HEE is now in a position to understand the headline message about how many students complete their course of study within the commissioned period of their programme. The data collected to date for the four fields of nursing, midwifery and therapeutic radiography is as follows: PeriodAverage % of students that do not complete within the standard pathway2013/14 (Baseline year)32.772014/1530.54Source: Health Education EnglandData for 2015/16 is not yet available.The RePAIR project was tasked with defining attrition in a more meaningful way and working with Healthcare Environment Inspectorates (HEIs) to address the reasons behind attrition. It should be noted that previous such collections, in the main, looked at the number of students who failed to complete their programme of study at any point (leaving the programme for personal reasons, or failing examinations).The new methodology seeks to analyse students not completing their programme of study on schedule, as well as those who do not complete it at all, as this is a crucial factor in ensuring a timely and sufficient supply of clinical staff in the National Health Service. Some of these students will go on to complete their studies but over a longer time frame.The RePAIR project has established a number of case study sites to gain a greater depth of understanding about what influences a student’s decision to stay on a course and test some proposed interventions to improve retention. The RePAIR Project will report its findings and present its data for 2015/16 in autumn 2017.HEE will continue to work with HEIs and others to find solutions to attrition.

Nurses: Training

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 16 December 2014 (HL3361), what is the single definition of attrition used by higher education institutions, Health Education England, the Department of Health and the Department for Education to determine levels of attrition for nursing degree courses.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department is not aware of one single definition of student attrition across the organisations highlighted. The Department’s Mandate to Health Education England (HEE) includes a requirement for HEE to reduce attrition rates from training programmes by 50% by 2017. HEE defines attrition in the fields of fields of nursing, midwifery and therapeutic radiography as the “Percentage of students who did not complete within the standard pathway for that programme.” This attrition metric is completely new so should not be benchmarked to other attrition definitions, such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s non-continuation rate for United Kingdom nursing students which has previously been referred to. This high-level standard metric is designed to overcome inconsistencies with other attrition definitions and to measure improvement nationally.

Nurses

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of nurses who will be available for deployment in the NHS for each of the years from 2016–17 to 2020–21, and what levels of in-work attrition are used to calculate future nurse numbers over this period.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Health Education England (HEE) have produced a higher and lower range of scenarios for future nurse supply, which is shown in the following table. The figures provided here represent those in the published ‘Workforce Plan for England 2016/17’. Range of future forecast supply up to March 2021 Forecast supply for all nurse branches2015 staff in post baseline2016 increase in forecast supplyLower scenario full time equivalents (FTEs)294,0942,732Higher scenario (FTEs)294,09410,194 Forecast supply for all nurse branches2017201820192020Lower scenario full time equivalents (FTEs)3,1833,7073,9572,975Higher scenario (FTEs)18,14326,14833,87040,335  Source: Health Education England These forecasts are calculated based on the current stock of staff, and flows into and out of the existing workforce, including retirements, outturn from education and other joiners and leavers from the National Health Service workforce. The range of scenarios comes from the variation in the assumed levels of ‘other’ joiners and leavers as extracted by HEE from the Electronic Staff Record (for example, the treatment of leavers and joiners classed as 'Unknown’). In the lower scenario, there are more ‘other’ types of leaver (6.3%) each year than ‘other’ types of joiner (3.9%). In the higher scenario, ‘other’ types of joiners and leavers are in broadly in balance (at around 3%). The lower forecast scenario acts to highlight the importance of the system acting to improve staff retention alongside efforts to reduce course attrition and improve employment rates.

Nurses: Labour Turnover

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the years from 2010–11 to 2015–16, (1) how many UK-trained nurses were admitted to the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register, and (2) how many UK-trained nurses left the NMC Register.

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the years from 2010–11 to 2015–16, (1) how many EU-trained nurses were admitted to the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register, and (2) how many EU-trained nurses left the NMC Register.

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the years from 2010–11 to 2015–16, (1) how many non-EU- or UK-trained nurses were admitted to the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register, and (2) how many non-EU- or UK-trained nurses left the NMC Register.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is not held by the Department in the format requested. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is responsible for the registration of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many, and what percentage of, dentists from the European Economic Area have failed the General Dental Council’s International English Language Testing System exam during 2016.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is not held by the Department or the General Dental Council. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an independent organisation which is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

Nurses: Migrant Workers

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many, and what percentage of, nurses from the European Economic Area have failed the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s International English Language Testing System exam during 2016.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is not held by the Department or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an independent organisation which is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

HIV Infection: Screening

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific policies or initiatives have been implemented to encourage ethnic minority women to test for HIV beyond maternity care.

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions have been taken to encourage early testing for HIV among ethnic minority communities.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As part of the Public Health England (PHE) commissioned national HIV Prevention programme, a national social marketing campaign took place through National HIV Testing Week to raise awareness of the importance of HIV testing and opportunities to test in different settings. The campaign has specifically tailored its message to ethnic minority women at a higher risk for HIV acquisition. In addition, all women from black African backgrounds can access the national HIV self-sampling service. PHE is funding all requests for HIV self-sampling kits made through the national service until 8 January 2017. The national HIV prevention programme is focused on at-risk populations including black Africans and other black and minority ethnic groups with a high or increasing burden of infection. In addition, in the first nine months of operation (November 2015 to September 2016) of the national HIV self-sampling service 35,347 kits were delivered of which 18,270 were returned. Of the returned kits, 19% (3,447) were returned by individuals who self-ascribed as being from black and minority ethnic communities. Of the returned kits, 56 gave a reactive result (1.6%), which was above the service average of 1.1%. The HIV Innovation Fund is supporting a number of projects which focus on ethnic minority communities including tackling stigma and promoting testing.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have given consideration to the establishment of a holistic strategy for sexual health and HIV specifically for ethnic minority communities.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department’s A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England (2013) sets out our ambitions to improve the sexual health of the whole population including ethnic minority communities. A copy of the Framework is attached.In addition, Public Health England’s Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV: Strategic action plan, 2016 to 2019 highlights the sexual health inequalities within black African and black Caribbean communities that are disproportionately affected by HIV and sexually transmitted infections in different ways. The document highlights that activities that promote condom use and address stigma and discrimination should be supported in both communities, but the primary focus of health promotion activities should differ. The priority should be to increase HIV testing among black African communities, and to promote condom use and reduce sexual risk behaviours among black Caribbean communities. A copy of the Strategic action plan is attached.



STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN 
(PDF Document, 651.68 KB)




FRAMEWORK FOR SEXUAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT
(PDF Document, 321.31 KB)

Female Genital Mutilation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider writing to all frontline clinicians to remind them of their statutory duty to record and report female genital mutilation cases which they identify as part of clinical examinations.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department’s national Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Prevention Programme aims to improve the way in which the National Health Service responds to the health needs of girls and women who have had FGM, and to actively support prevention. As part of the Programme, NHS Digital issued a Data Provision Notice (DPN) on 25 November to formally communicate their statutory power to mandate the collection of data about the treatment of patients with FGM in the NHS. The DPN has been issued to all general practitioners and mental health and acute trusts - the organisations upon which this mandate is placed. It confirms what they need to do to comply with the dataset and communicates the legal basis and the benefits of the collection. The FGM Prevention Programme continues its outreach work with a series of national and online workshops in February and March 2017 to support designated safeguarding leads at NHS mental health trusts and wider mental health services to better understand their responsibilities around the treatment of FGM.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise GPs' awareness of obsessive compulsive disorder in order to ensure that patients are not misdiagnosed.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommended that the Department and NHS England should work with the Royal College of General Practitioners and Health Education England (HEE) to ensure that by 2020 all general practitioners (GPs), including the 5,000 joining the workforce by 2020-21, receive core mental health training, and to develop a new role of GPs with an extended Scope of Practice in Mental Health, with at least 700 in practice within five years. HEE offers the MindEd programme to GPs, which provides a free e-learning resource including a session on obsessive compulsive disorder.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost to the NHS of treating non-EU citizens during the year 2015–16; and how much of this is recovered from (1) the patients, and (2) the governments, of the countries concerned.

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to obtain a higher level of repayment from other EU member states for NHS treatment of non-British EU citizens.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is not possible to provide data of an estimate of the cost to the National Health Service of treating non-European Union citizens during the year 2015-16 as patient nationality is not reported by NHS provider trusts. An independent report by prederi, entitled Quantitative Assessment of Visitor and Migrant Use of the NHS in England: Exploring the Data was commissioned by the Department to better understand the impact of treating visitors and migrants and was published on 22 October 2013. A copy of this report is attached The report estimated the gross value of NHS-funded healthcare provided to non-European Economic Area (EEA) visitors and temporary migrants was approximately £1.4 billion per year. The Department has been collecting data on the amounts recovered from patients subject to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 that have been directly charged for their treatment. These relate to invoices raised in current and previous years. Figures for financial year 2015-2016 are shown in the table below: Income recognised this yearCash payments received in-year (relating to invoices raised in current and previous years) 2015-16£ Millions£ MillionsNHS Trusts30.613.1NHS Foundation Trusts38.616.2Total69.229.3 Source: NHS Trust and NHS Foundation Trust Annual Accounts 2015/16 We do not recover costs directly from patients covered by the terms of the reciprocal healthcare agreements that the United Kingdom has with certain non-EEA countries. The terms of the reciprocal healthcare agreements allow for each country to absorb the cost of providing immediately necessary and urgent care provided to visitors between those countries. Under the terms of the Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, other EEA member states and Switzerland reimburse the UK for healthcare treatment provided to the citizens for whom they are responsible. Reimbursement is contingent on the NHS frontline identifying patients for whom we can recover costs and reporting the necessary information. All EEA countries, including the UK, have a legal obligation to pay agreed claims relating to healthcare treatment provided. Once both sides are satisfied that such claims are accurate, they are paid in full. In October 2014, the Department introduced a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) incentive, meaning NHS provider trusts would be paid an additional 25% of all EHIC activity they correctly record. This has led to a significant improvement in collection of EHICs as shown in the table below:  October 2013- September 2014October 2014- September 2015European Health Insurance Card (Volumes)6,14012,611European Health Insurance Card (Amounts)£9.1 million£17.6 million Source: Department of Work and Pensions Overseas Healthcare Team.



Quantitative Assessment
(PDF Document, 3.04 MB)

Mental Health Services

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1417) concerning the NHS England integrated dashboard, what form it will take, what is its function, and whether the information collated will be publically available.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS England Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard was published in October 2016 as an online only resource.A key purpose of the Dashboard is for NHS England and the Five Year Forward View Programme Board to be able to monitor progress on its commitments to transform mental health services and improve transparency. In addition, by making the data publically available, NHS England is ensuring that commissioners can use it as a tool to inform their work, and that services users, their families and carers can see how local services are performing and understand where to look to make informed choices about their care.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they intend to take following publication of the decisions from the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention of Tobacco Control.

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decisions of the seventh session of the Conference of Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in regard to non-nicotine delivery systems.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The United Kingdom is a world leader in tobacco control and is well advanced in the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In the Autumn Statement, the Government announced legislation to require the licensing of tobacco manufacturing equipment which also takes the UK a further step forward towards ratifying the FCTC’s Illicit Trade Protocol. In November, the seventh Conference of the Parties considered a report on e-cigarettes by the World Health Organisation and concluded that further monitoring of market developments, emerging research, development of emission testing methodology and regulatory response is required, but that Parties should be invited to regulate these products “as appropriate to their national laws and public health objectives.” The Government has already introduced a regulatory framework for these products in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. The implementation and effect of these regulations will be monitored and the Government will examine all opportunities to maximise the health benefits of these products for smokers whilst minimising their uptake by children and non-smokers. The Government will also shortly publish a new Plan which will set out a framework for future action on tobacco control.